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https://blackgirlnerds.com/brittney-griner-is-finally-coming-home/
“She’s safe. She’s on a plane. She’s on her way home,” were President Biden’s words posted on Twitter this morning, announcing WNBA star Brittney Griner’s release.
Griner has been released in a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout, after being held for 10 months in a Russian prison on drug charges. This brings an end to an agonizing ordeal that has produced intense negotiations to secure her freedom.
The exchange agreement has been in the works for weeks, according to the White House. However, any leak of it could have jeopardized everything. It was given final approval by President Biden last week. To secure the release, Bout was freed and returned to Russia, cutting short his 25-year prison sentence by 15 years.
In February, Griner was detained at a Russian airport for possession of hashish oil. The Phoenix Mercury superstar was convicted on August 4, 2022, and sentenced to nine years for drug possession. She was moved to a penal colony in November, after losing an appeal.
This was a “take it or leave it” deal and not a typical negotiation. Unfortunately, other Americans have been left behind, particularly Paul Whelan.
Paul Whelan has been serving a 16-year sentence for espionage charges. A Marine veteran, he was accused of being a spy by the Russian government. At the time of his arrest, he was a corporate security director for a Michigan-based automotive company, visiting Moscow for a friend’s wedding. Whelan unwittingly received a flash drive that he thought contained photos; however, it really contained secret intel and he was convicted. The United States has repeatedly stated that the charges against Whelan are baseless and that he was framed.
Although Whelan did not get on that plane with Griner, President Biden made it clear that the fight will not stop to bring Whelan home as well. This, we know, will take a little more elbow grease to make it happen.
On the surface level, a prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners — which can include spies, prisoners of war, and hostages. Oftentimes, these swaps can even involve dead bodies. Regardless, prisoner swaps are legal are authorized by the justice department.
We’ve known that Brittney Griner has been used as a political pawn, as the Russia-Ukraine war started one week after her arrest. Essentially, she was a hostage of a government that didn’t care anything about her — a queer, Black woman basketball player with celebrity status. President Biden has had a lot of pressure to bring her home, while Russia has made the United States suffer through intense negotiations for which the aftershocks remain to be seen.
So, here we are about to welcome Griner home but we’ve put Viktor Bout back into the world as well. Anyone whose nickname is “Merchant of Death” and who inspired a movie called Lord of War is no joke. At the time of his arrest in 2008, he was known as the most dangerous man in the world.
Bout trafficked weapons all over the world. A former Soviet military officer, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiring to kill Americans, acquire and export anti-aircraft missiles, and provide material support to a terrorist organization. He says he’s innocent.
As you can imagine, the Drug Enforcement Administration is not happy about Bout’s release. It was the DEA who comprised a sting operation to finally bring Bout down. So, they are feeling as if all of their work was in vain. We will probably never know all that took place in the situation room negotiating this swap. But we do know that these are hard decisions for any administration to make. We can look at it from the perspective of, in the years to come, Bout was eventually going to get out.
This is the Biden Administration’s second prisoner swap with Russia. In April, the United States traded Russian smuggler Konstantin Yaroshenko for former Marine Trevor Reed.
In a news conference this morning, Griner’s wife Cherelle said that her family is now whole. What a glorious moment that she was able to share with us, about Brittney coming home. We would be remiss though in thinking that this is all over. This entire situation has revealed some disturbing truths about racism, sexism, and the role of women in elite sports.
Would this story have been different if she played in the NBA instead of the WNBA? Would she even have had to be Russia at all — a place that once praised her on the court then ultimately detained her in a penal colony? Unfortunately, we know the answers to these questions.
Although her legacy has taken a turn, Griner is not broken. She’s still here. What’s next for her should be up to her, with all the what-ifs and what-abouts left for some other time. Perhaps we can pause for her, taking a breath and centering grace for the ordeal she has endured. We need to continue to hold space for the families, including the Whelans, who are still not whole.
Welcome home, Brittney.
“She’s safe. She’s on a plane. She’s on her way home,” were President Biden’s words posted on Twitter this morning, announcing WNBA star Brittney Griner’s release.
Griner has been released in a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout, after being held for 10 months in a Russian prison on drug charges. This brings an end to an agonizing ordeal that has produced intense negotiations to secure her freedom.
The exchange agreement has been in the works for weeks, according to the White House. However, any leak of it could have jeopardized everything. It was given final approval by President Biden last week. To secure the release, Bout was freed and returned to Russia, cutting short his 25-year prison sentence by 15 years.
In February, Griner was detained at a Russian airport for possession of hashish oil. The Phoenix Mercury superstar was convicted on August 4, 2022, and sentenced to nine years for drug possession. She was moved to a penal colony in November, after losing an appeal.
This was a “take it or leave it” deal and not a typical negotiation. Unfortunately, other Americans have been left behind, particularly Paul Whelan.
Paul Whelan has been serving a 16-year sentence for espionage charges. A Marine veteran, he was accused of being a spy by the Russian government. At the time of his arrest, he was a corporate security director for a Michigan-based automotive company, visiting Moscow for a friend’s wedding. Whelan unwittingly received a flash drive that he thought contained photos; however, it really contained secret intel and he was convicted. The United States has repeatedly stated that the charges against Whelan are baseless and that he was framed.
Although Whelan did not get on that plane with Griner, President Biden made it clear that the fight will not stop to bring Whelan home as well. This, we know, will take a little more elbow grease to make it happen.
On the surface level, a prisoner exchange or prisoner swap is a deal between opposing sides in a conflict to release prisoners — which can include spies, prisoners of war, and hostages. Oftentimes, these swaps can even involve dead bodies. Regardless, prisoner swaps are legal are authorized by the justice department.
We’ve known that Brittney Griner has been used as a political pawn, as the Russia-Ukraine war started one week after her arrest. Essentially, she was a hostage of a government that didn’t care anything about her — a queer, Black woman basketball player with celebrity status. President Biden has had a lot of pressure to bring her home, while Russia has made the United States suffer through intense negotiations for which the aftershocks remain to be seen.
So, here we are about to welcome Griner home but we’ve put Viktor Bout back into the world as well. Anyone whose nickname is “Merchant of Death” and who inspired a movie called Lord of War is no joke. At the time of his arrest in 2008, he was known as the most dangerous man in the world.
Bout trafficked weapons all over the world. A former Soviet military officer, he was sentenced to 25 years in prison for conspiring to kill Americans, acquire and export anti-aircraft missiles, and provide material support to a terrorist organization. He says he’s innocent.
As you can imagine, the Drug Enforcement Administration is not happy about Bout’s release. It was the DEA who comprised a sting operation to finally bring Bout down. So, they are feeling as if all of their work was in vain. We will probably never know all that took place in the situation room negotiating this swap. But we do know that these are hard decisions for any administration to make. We can look at it from the perspective of, in the years to come, Bout was eventually going to get out.
This is the Biden Administration’s second prisoner swap with Russia. In April, the United States traded Russian smuggler Konstantin Yaroshenko for former Marine Trevor Reed.
In a news conference this morning, Griner’s wife Cherelle said that her family is now whole. What a glorious moment that she was able to share with us, about Brittney coming home. We would be remiss though in thinking that this is all over. This entire situation has revealed some disturbing truths about racism, sexism, and the role of women in elite sports.
Would this story have been different if she played in the NBA instead of the WNBA? Would she even have had to be Russia at all — a place that once praised her on the court then ultimately detained her in a penal colony? Unfortunately, we know the answers to these questions.
Although her legacy has taken a turn, Griner is not broken. She’s still here. What’s next for her should be up to her, with all the what-ifs and what-abouts left for some other time. Perhaps we can pause for her, taking a breath and centering grace for the ordeal she has endured. We need to continue to hold space for the families, including the Whelans, who are still not whole.
Welcome home, Brittney.
New DC Studios co-head James Gunn is making some drastic changes going forward to the on-screen DCU. It shocked everyone to learn that Patty Jenkins Wonder Woman 3 was canceled, and now there are rumors that Gunn is opting for a full-scale reboot. Well, we’ve stated here before just what the DCU plan should be going forward, and how to repair their signature franchises. Namely, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Flash, Green Lantern, the Justice League, and the Teen Titans.
Having said that, there are other, more offbeat characters in the DC library that are perfect for James Gunn’s approach. Even if he himself doesn’t helm any of them as director, as executive producer they’d probably still have his signature stamp. Gunn has stated his plans for the DCU encompass film, TV, animation, and games. So some of these projects could fill any of those slots. Although we think Gunn’s focus should be on some of DC’s lesser-known IP, we can’t help but reiterate that he needs to start by repairing DC’s World’s Finest duo:
Superman and Batman: World’s Finest
Without a doubt, DC Studios needs a viable Superman and Batman team. Once Gunn and Safran figure out just who the DCU’s Superman and Batman even are, of course. Not adversaries, not enemies, but allies. (Ok, maybe frenemies). Batman v Superman made the two seem like mortal enemies. The Dark Knight was willing to murder the Man of Steel for the flimsiest of reasons. We need something that shows Superman and Batman teaming up to fight an evil that only the two of them combined can defeat. Besides, a good World’s Finest film could be the foundation for a proper Justice League reboot.
New Gods
Director Ava DuVernay and writer Tom King planned a New Gods movie, before Warner Bros. scrapped it last year. But maybe James Gunn is the man who has the vision to revive it. Jack Kirby’s mythological space opera is part Game of Thrones, part Star Wars, and showcases DC’s biggest bad of them all, Darkseid. New Gods was just one part of Jack Kirby’s “Fourth World,” which also contained characters like Mister Miracle and the Forever People, who should be included too. It might actually fit better on TV than film, if we’re being honest. But it deserves a chance somewhere in Gunn’s new DCU.
Booster Gold
Everyone has a soft spot for a lovable loser, and Booster Gold was DC’s version of that concept. In the comics, Booster was a nobody who worked as a janitor in the 25th-century museum. While working there, he stole some time travel machinery, and went back in time to our present. He hoped that some basic future tech would land him a career as a superhero in our primitive world. A world where he’d become rich and famous of course.
These were less than noble motives to embark on a heroic career, to be sure. Booster was readily given to corporate sponsorships and get-rich-quick schemes. Most of these blew up in his face. But he eventually learned to be a true hero worthy of Justice League status. His friendship with Ted Kord, the first Blue Beetle, is one of DC’s most enduring bromances, and could naturally lead us to our next Gunn-produced project.
Justice League International
For their first 25 years, the Justice League was composed of DC’s biggest and brightest heroes. But in the late ‘80s, DC tried a different approach to great success. in 1987, writers Keith Giffen and J. M. DeMatteis created Justice League International, a United Nations-backed team made up of B-list heroes (Like Booster Gold and Blue Beetle) mixed with a few iconic heroes like Batman and Martian Manhunter.
The JLI stories all had a comedic bent, many of which were laugh-out-loud funny. We still think the main Justice League, with DC’s biggest icons, should be a film. But a TV version of the League based on JLI would be perfect for Gunn’s approach. Highlight characters like Booster and Beetle, along with heroes like Fire and Ice, and jerk Green Lantern, Guy Gardner. Heck, we say put Peacemaker on the team while you’re at it. He’s a perfect fit.
Metamorpho, the Element Man
Here’s another trippy Silver Age hero who seems perfect for a Gunn-led DCU. Created in 1965, Rex Mason was an adventurer who was cursed in an ancient Egyptian tomb, as so often happens. Although transformed into a strange-looking creature, Rex gained the power to shapeshift. He could now change himself into any element, or combination of elements. A bizarre character with a truly weird design, despite having his own series in the ‘60s, he mainly showed up on team books in the decades following. But a freaky-looking dude who can transform himself into pretty much anything? That feels like a James Gunn vehicle if ever there was one.
The Legion of Super-Heroes
Debuting in 1958, the Legion of Super-Heroes pre-dates the Justice League and every major Marvel team. For decades, they were one of DC Comics’ biggest selling titles, but have struggled to maintain relevancy since the ‘90s at least. But the concept is as good as it gets. A group of teenagers 1,000 years in the future from different worlds and with different powers form a coalition representing galactic unity, inspired by the legends of Superman, a full millennium prior.
The Legion live up to their name, as they are a team with often at least 25 members at a time. Sure, they often have silly names. Code names like Cosmic Boy, Matter-Eater Lad, and Bouncing Boy, to name a few. but let’s not forget that Gunn made a talking Raccoon and sentient tree household names. He can make the world love someone named “Triplicate Girl.” Legion might work best as a bigger-budget TV show than a movie, but you can’t tell us there’s not pure gold in the concept of Star Trek meets X-Men with a dash of Superman.
The post Projects We’d Love the James Gunn-Run DC Studios to Produce appeared first on Nerdist.